21 Apr
The world is indeed in Toronto and you can experience it without a visa or a plane ticket or spending very much money.
Canada, China, Iran, Korea. Jewish. Muslim. Christian. (Sorry we couldn’t tell you earlier about the 15th Annual Asian Music Series of the amazing Small World Music Centre. The series started on April 1 and goes on to May 20. – Ruth.) This Asian Music Series continues this week with Korean Traditional Music on April 29. 8pm. $20-$30. 180 Shaw Street. For concerts in May, see http://smallworldmusic.com.
England. St. George‘s Day. 4pm. Sunday, April 23. Festive Evensong – Tea at 5pm, “The Best of Friends” with drama, poetry and music. St. Olaves Anglican Church, 360 Windermere (south of Bloor). http://stolaves.ca/special-services/
Jewish-Muslim. Canada. Trailblazers and Troublemakers: Filmmakers Telling the Stories of Jewish and Muslim Women. Sunday, April 30. 7pm. Admission: $10 (in advance); $12 (at door); purchase at https://guestlist.co/events/453675.
“Canadian filmmakers Zarqa Nawaz (journalist and creator of CBC’s Little Mosque on the Prairie and Francine Zuckerman (writer, producer and director) share insights and excerpts from their ground-breaking documentaries. Me & The Mosque and Half the Kingdom focus on the efforts of Muslim and Jewish women to reconcile deeply held faith commitments with their desires for equal access to communal and ritual space. Noor Cultural Centre, 123 Wynford Dr., North York. For more information, please visit http://www.noorculturalcentre.ca/?p=14580
Community Partners: Noor Cultural Centre, University of Toronto Multi-Faith Centre, Makom: Creative Downtown Judaism and Emmanuel College of Victoria University in the University of Toronto. Featured image from Little Mosque on the Prairie courtesy of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation website.
Muslim. Muhammad Ali (the boxer). Saturday April 22. 7-9pm. Free. History Nights lecture. 2-2570 Haines Rd. Mississauga. Speaker: Imam Yasin Dwyer. Registration Link: https://campscui.active.com/orgs/UnderstandingIslamAcademy#/selectSessions/1582003
Please bring a non-perishable item to donate for HalalServe’s food bank. Free dinner will be served! info@uia.ca.
Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan Brunch. Sat, April 29. 11am-2pm. $10. “Kiribath, pongal, curries, short-eats – what’s more Sri Lankan than getting together and sharing delicious food? Join us for Brunch with the SLWB Bunch to celebrate Puthandu (Tamil New Year) and Avurudu (Sinhalese New Year)… We welcome anyone who would like to learn more about the Sri Lankan culture and what SLWB does… Please ensure that you purchase tickets on Eventbrite so we are aware of the number of guests attending. 24 Foxhill Road. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/brunch-with-the-slwb-bunch-tickets-32986769315.
Poster from Facebook: http://bit.ly/2o5hK1R .
Multicultural. 2017 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival. April 27 to May 7. 230 films from a record 58 countries. North America’s largest documentary festival in theatres across Toronto. Regular tickets: $15; Premium tickets: $22 – $24. Passes available. Free screenings for seniors (60+) and students with valid ID for films that start before 5pm. Tickets for these screenings can be picked up at the venue’s box office on the day of the screening, subject to availability.
Full film schedule online at: https://goo.gl/gXEiUz ; International film schedule: http://bit.ly/1SKtnBr
Samples follow. Just reading brief outlines is fascinating. I want to see them all. — Ruth
China. Still Tomorrow. https://goo.gl/e5FTAw
China. Weaving. https://goo.gl/88ZXlb
Hong Kong. Philippines. Sunday Beauty Queen: https://goo.gl/U4LHnM
Portugal. Japan. A Friendship in Tow. http://bit.ly/2ov2GpI
South Africa. France. Netherlands. Winnie. (Yes, that Winnie- Ruth). http://bit.ly/2oqQyXl
Syria. Sweden. 69 Minutes of 86 Days. http://bit.ly/2oqQyXl
Taiwan. The Silent Teacher. https://goo.gl/rb9hwa
Tibet and India. Becoming Who I Was. http://bit.ly/2oS1X5b
Sikh. India. Nagar Keertan. Khalsa Parade. Sunday, April 30. This major, colourful, spectacular annual religious event starts with prayers and food at the CNE’s Better Living Centre at 9am. At 1pm, led by a vehicle carrying the Sikh’s holy book, a parade of Sikhs marches with floats along the Lakeshore, and then north on University Avenue to Toronto City Hall. There, speeches, worship, and more food are available to everyone present.
About 50,000-70,000 Sikh men, women and children participate. The Sikh homeland in India is in the Punjab, north of New Delhi. All of us, not just Sikhs, are welcome to partake of the wonderful free feast of spicy, vegetarian food. This is a very relaxed, crowded event and you will have an opportunity to meet some Sikhs. Try to get to the City Hall before the parade arrives if you want to avoid the queues. https://www.osgc.ca/nagar-keertan-2016.
For our 2015 blog about this event, see: http://bit.ly/2ox76MM
Another parade takes place the following week in Mississauga on May 7. It starts from the Sri Guru Singh Sabha at 7280 Airport Road with prayers and food at 10am. The parade begins at 12:30pm. Food, prayers and speeches are at its destination the Sikh Spiritual Centre, 9 Carrier Drive at Highway 27. All welcome but no alcohol or smoking. Celebration there continue to 8pm.
Non-Sikhs are welcome to attend but everyone should cover heads in respect and take off shoes indoors. For more information: Email: gsecssc@gmail.com. Phone: 416-858-8011.
Please let us know if you attend any of these events and share your impressions, good or bad, with us. Send us your posters about other upcoming affordable events that express Toronto’s cultural diversity. Subscribe to our mailing list above. Follow us on www.twitter.torontomulticul. Leave a Reply below or email us: ruthlormalloy@gmail.com.